The Alabama Crimson Tide have looked nothing like thje dominant teams of the past to begin the 2023 season. Alabama has struggled heavily on the offensive side of the ball. And much of that comes down to the unsteady quarterback play in the first three games of the year.
Alabama head coach Nick Saban began the season with sophomore quarterback Jalen Milroe as the starter. He played fine in the first game against Middle Tennessee, but struggled heavily in Week 2 against Texas, which played a big role in their first loss of the season.
Saban then completely phased Milroe out of the offense for their Week 3 against South Florida, instead opting to play two other quarterbacks in that game, as Tyler Buchner and Ty Simpson both saw time in the game.
Alabama was able to win that matchup against USF, but it was not a pretty win whatsoever, as the offense only put up 17 points, with only 107 passing yards on the day.
Ahead of Alabama’s big matchup against Ole Miss in Week 4, Saban has opted to go right back to Milroe after benching him, naming him the starter for their matchup on Saturday.
Saban has not typically been a coach who makes a ton of changes in the middle of the season at the quarterback position. And Saban explained why Milroe got his starting job back during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show on Thursday.
“We want our player to direct their feelings to making them a better player. Jalen (Milroe) did that this week. I’m pleased with his performance. He’s got nothing to prove. He’s our guy, he is the guy that I have confidence in. In the end, I think this will make him better.”
It’s obviously great for Milroe to hear that Saban seemingly is confident enough in Milroe to give him his starting job back. But Milroe will need to play far better individually if Alabama wants to turn their season around with a win over Ole Miss.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.